Hand truck



F. S. BUTLER Aug. 2, 1955 HAND TRUCK Filed June 22, 1955 INVENTORFRAZIER S.E u-r|.r:-v. 1 BY WMM F J 6; 14M 5 a .1 T. M 7. N 4 4 v 5 2 bl E 0 1 w 9 a 6 a a 4 2 5 D 4 l l 5 6 7 l 5 E 6 l D A a W 2,714,462 HANDTRUCK Frazier S. Butler, Memphis, Tenn. Application June 22, 1953,Serial No. 363,357 8 Claims. (Cl. 214515) This invention relates to ahand truck, and more specifically relates to a hand truck adapted forsafe and easy lowering from an elevated platform, vehicle tailgate,etc., by co-operating with mechanism mounted on the latter.

Specifically the invention relates to a hand truck and co-operatingmechanism for safely and easily lowering the loaded hand truck from anelevated platform, said mechanism comprising a pair of parallel uprightguide bars attached to the rear of said hand truck, a pair of guidesleeves slidable along said guide bars, a horizontal abutment-engagingbar extending between and rigidly connected to said guide sleeves, meansoperable by hand or foot for rotating said abutment-engaging bar, andlowering-controlling cam-type brake means associated and coacting withsaid guide sleeves and guide bars and operable byrotation of saidabutment-engaging bar.

While it has heretofore been proposed to provide means associated with avehicle bed for lowering loads therefrom, such means have been ofexpensive and complicated construction, and have been difiicult to use,requiring in most cases a hand-truck loading and unloading operation ateach end of the lowering means. The present invention overcomes thesefaults of the prior art devices.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a hand truck having avery simple and easily operable device for lowering the same from avehicle tailgate or other elevated platform.

Another object is to provide a hand truck having a highly effective anddurable, yet inexpensive device, for lowering the loaded hand truck froman elevated platform.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand truck which has asimple hand or foot operable brake controlled sliding device forlowering the truck from an elevated platform and which is easilymaneuverable into engagement with a co-operating abutment devicemountable adjacent on edge of said platform.

It is the overall object of the invention to generally improve theefiiciency and design of hand trucks of the type disclosed.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of the presentinvention are accomplished and the manner of their accomplishment willbe readily understood from the following specification upon reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a front clevational view of the hand truck proper.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view in section taken as on theline Hllll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the disclosure of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical axial sec tional view of oneof the slide guides and brake mechanism taken on the line V-V of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the various parts are designatedby numerals, the numeral 11 generally designates the hand truck, whichis basically of substantially conventional construction. Hand truck 11comprises a pair of parallel side frame members 13 and 15,interconnected by upper and lower transverse frame members 17 and 19,respectively, welded thereto. A pair of loadsupport bars 21, evenlyspaced between and parallel to side frame members 13 and 15, are rigidlyattached to transverse frame members 17 and 19, as bv States Patent 02,714,462 Patented Aug. 2, 1955 welding. The frame members 13, 15, 17,19 are preferably formed of metal tubing for optimum strength andlight-weight. A pair of handles 23 are attached in any suitable mannerto frame 13, 15, 1'7, 19 adjacent the upper corners thereof.

Hand truck 11 has the usual pair of wheels 25 with axles 27. Axles 27are mounted at their outer ends in bearings 28 mounted on support frames29 and at their inner ends in bearing bores formed in gusset plates 31attached to the transverse frame member 19 and to the backing bars 33attached to the toe plate 35. Toe plate 35 is also firmly attached tothe lower ends of the side frame members. Toe plate 35 is provided witha rearwardly opening central cut-out notch to guidingly receive theguiding frame of the abutment device hereinafter described.

That part of the lowering mechanism carried by the hand truck comprisesa pair of parallel tubular slide posts 37 attached at their upper endsto the transverse frame member 17. Tubular slide posts 37 are laterallysymmetrically disposed between the frame members 13 and 15 anddownwardly diverge rearwardly slightly away from the plane of the truckframe proper as shown. The lower ends of slide posts 37 are bent toconform to the outline of the rear and bottom edges of gussets 3.1 towhich they are welded. The forward extremities of the bent lower ends ofslide posts 37 are welded to the backing bars 33 of the toe plate 35.

Slidably embracing each of slide posts 37 is a sleeve 39. Each sleeve isprovided with an opening through its rear wall and with a pair ofparallel rearwardly and vertically disposed ears 42 on each side of saidopening. Each car 42 of each pair has a transverse bore therethrough,all four bores being horizontally alined to receive a shaft 41 rotatablyheld therein as by nuts 43 screwed onto the threaded ends of shaft 41. Ashort foot or hand engageable lever 45 is welded medially of the shaft41 so as to normally extend rearwardly and upwardly therefrom for easyaccess thereto. Keyed or otherwise attached to that part of shaft 41lying between the cars 42 of each sleeve 39 is a cam element 46, whichupon rotation of shaft 41 counterclockwise (in Figs. 1 and 4) produces abraking'or binding action between the tubular slide posts 37 and thesleeves 39. The vertical dimension of sleeves 3? is sufiiciently largeto insure against their binding on slide posts 37 due to an axialdisalinement therebetween.

The part of the lowering mechanism mounted on the tailgate, vehicle bedor other elevated platform generally designated by numeral 51, comprisesan abutment structure and a lower guide structure, respectivelygenerally designated by numerals 53 and 55.

Abutment structure 53 comprises a base plate 57 preferably formed ofsheet metal and having shallow upturned retainer guide flanges 57A alongits sides. Base plate 57 may be fastened to floor 51A of platform 51 asby screws 59. The abutment member proper comprising a frame 61 is formedof a metal bar bent, or of bar sections integrally joined endwise as bywelding, and has a pair of parallel base portions 61A adapted to lie onplate 57 against the upturned flanges 57A thereof. The portions 61A havelongitudinal slots 61B therein for receiving headed screws 63 by whichthey are attached to plate 57 for limited longitudinal adjustmentrelative thereto. The frame 61 has upturned forward end portions, andreversely extending inwardly angled portions 61D, the latter lying in aplane slightly above and approximately parallel to that of the baseplate .57. The rear ends of the bar portions 61D are connected by adownwardly and rearwardly pointed V-shaped bridge 61E. This V-shapedbridge 61E acts as a guide-cam to help center the hand truck over theabutment device 53 and to force the brake-controlling shaft 41 up ontothe bar 3 portions 61D, by which said shaft 41 and the brake sleeves aresupported as the hand truck 11 is lowered to the ground from platform51. To prevent shaft 51 from Slipping off the front ends of frameportions 61D a substantially vertical stop plate 65 is attached to thefront frameportions by welding or otherwise.

The lower guide structure 55 comprises an upper set of rollers 67mounted on the end of the platform underst'ructure 51B, and a secondlower set of rollers 69 vertically alined therewith and mounted onbrackets 71 bolted or welded to said platform understructure 513. Theserollers 67 and 69 form a somewhat tilted low-friction guide device forengaging the slide posts 37 as the hand truck 11 is lowered.

In use the hand truck 11, with its abutment-engaging brake elements(sleeves 39 and shaft 41) in their lowered position on slide posts 37,is guided by a worker toward the abutment structure 53, the wheelsstraddling the same. The abutment frame pointed end 61E will enter thenotch in the toe plate and cam the latter to the left or right forperfect alinement of the truck and abutment structure to eifect abalanced distribution of the load on the lowering mechanism. If thetruck is being held in a position approaching the vertical, the shaft 41will be relatively high and will be lifted only slightly, if at all, bythe downward ly sloped bridge portion 61E of the abutment frame 61.However, if the hand truck 11 is greatly tilted rearwardly, the shaft 41will engage the bridge portion 61E near its tip and will be raised orcammed up enough to ride on the portions 61D of said abutment frame 61.V either case theshaft will be arrested in its forward movement when itengages the stop plate or the end of abutment frame 61, at a time whenthe wheels are dropping over the edge of the platform 51. At this pointthe operator either by foot or manually depresses the lever '45 toactuate the brake mechanism. By easing off the force applied to lever45', the truck 11 and its load can be slowly and safely lowered to theground with minimum effort.

I claim:

1. In a hand truck, a pair of upright members, a pair of collarsslidably embracing said members, a shaft rotatably mounted in portionsof said collars offset from said members, cam means fixed to said shaftnormally out of engagement with said members, and lever means connectedto said shaft to rotate same and shift said cam means into memberengagement, member engagement by said cam means effecting frictionbraking against relative sliding of said collars and members.

2. A hand truck comprising a normally upright body portion, and alowering portion, said lowering portion 7 comprising a pair of slideposts attached uprightly to the rear of said body portion, "a slidesleeve embracing each of said slide posts and having a vertical slot inits side wall, a horizontally disposed shaft interconnecting saidsleeves, journalled "in bores therein and traversing said slots,cam-type brake elements attached to said shaft within said slots forengagement with said posts, a lever on said shaft for rotating the sameand the brake elements mounted thereon, said shaft being adapted tosupport said hand truck while the "same is lowered under control of saidbrake elements. V

3. In combination, a handtruck, including a body frame, a pair oflaterally located whe elsan d a toe plate extending forwardly therefrom;a pair of slide elements attached to the back of aid body frame; a pair*of 'sliding "elemdntsjsl'idable along said slide elements; brake meanscontrolling relative movement of said elements; a transverse "shaftinterconnecting said sliding elements for synchonizing their movements;an abutment device comprising an anchorage member attachable to avehicle tailgate or like elevated "p orm, 'a fearwardly anddownwardlytapered body portion 'adjus'tably mounted on "said anchorage member, andmeans attached tos'aid Bodyportion ad aeeiit its front and and eiite'n'dir'ig upwardly therefrom so as to engage and stop saidtransverse shaft on 4 said hand truck, whereby the latter can be loweredfrbiii said platform easily and safely under the control of said brakemeans.

4. Structure according to claim 3, and in which said body portion ofsaid abutment device is a frame formed of metal bar sections, comprisingparallel base sections, upright front sections rearwardly convergingsubstantially horizontal support sections and shaft-lifting and guidingbridge sections rearwardly and downwardly converging at the rear of saidsupport sections.

5. Structure according to claim 4, said toe plate being centrallyrecessed for guiding engagement with said body portion of said abutmentbody portion.

I 6. In a hand truck which includes a load engaging frame, control meansconnected to said frame, said control means comprising upright meansconnected to said frame, collar means slidably mounted on said uprightmeans, said collar means including portions offset and projecting awayfrom said upright means, said offset portions being apertured to provideshaft-journalling bores, a shaft journalled in said bores and spacedfrom said upright means, lobe-like cam means rigidly fixed to androtatable with said shaft in alinement with said upright means, said cammeans projecting eccentrically from said shaft a distance in excess ofthe spacing of said shaft from said upright means and being shiftableunder shaft rotation into and out of engagement with said upright means,cam and upright engagement effecting friction braking limiting relativesliding between said collar means and said upright means, and means for'eifecting camshifting rotation of said shaft.

7. In a hand truck which includes a load engaging frame, control meansconnected to said frame, said control means comprising a pair oflaterally spaced uprights connected to said frame, a pair of collarsrespectively slidably mounted on said uprights, said collars includingportions offset from said collars and projecting away from saiduprights, said offset portions being apertured to provideshaft-journalling bores, a shaft journalled in said bores spanning fromcollar to collar and spaced from said uprights, lobe-like cam meansrigidly fixed to and rotatable with said shaft in aline'ment with saiduprights, said cam means projecting eccentrically from said shaft adistance in excess of the spacing of said shaft from said uprights andbeing shiftable under shaft rotation into and out of engagement withsaid uprights, cam and upright engagement effecting friction brakinglimiting relative sliding between said collars and said uprights, andmeans for eifecting cam shifting rotation of said shaft.

8. In a hand truck which includes a load engaging frame, control meansconnected to said frame, said control means comprising a pair oflaterally spaced uprights connected to said frame, a pair of collarsrespectively slidably mounted on said uprights, said collars includingportions offset from said collars and projecting away from said uprightsremote from said frame, said offset portions being apertured to provideshaft-journalling bores, a shaft journalled in said bores spanning fromcollar to collar and spaced from said uprights, lobe-like cam meansrigidly fixed to and rotatable with said shaft in alinement with saiduprights, said cam means projecting eccentrically from said shaft adistance in excess of the spacing of said shaft from said uprights andbeing shiftable u'nder shaft rotation into and out of engagement withsaid uprights, cam and upright engagement effecting friction brakinglimiting relative sliding between said collars and said uprights, and alever connected to said shaft for effecting cam shifting rotation ofsaid shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS575,769 Porter Jan. 26, 1897 2,407,655 Di Santi Sept. 17, 1946 2,449,424Stieber Sept. 14, 1948 2,598,489 Bayer let al. May 27, 1952

